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Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake Cake Recipe

I’ve never been one to walk up to someone and introduce myself, make conversation, and walk away with a friend. I’ve done that twice in my whole twenty-four years of life. Granted those interactions did result in two of the very best friends any girl could ask for (so maybe there’s something to be said for the stalk-and-talk method), but I’ve always found them difficult. Since I’ve moved to Australia, it’s been a little lonely at times. I’m a homebody most of the time, and I like it that way, but even recluses like myself need social interaction on occasion. Not having university classes to attend or any luck finding a job, I haven’t been presented with many opportunities to make friends the ways I usually do. So I was stoked when my brother said he’d be coming to visit my boyfriend and me for a month!

Over the past week, I’ve shown him a few of the sights Canberra offers its tourists. It’s been fun playing tour guide and taking him to the national museum, Questacon, and to the long list of fabulous restaurants, I have carefully cultivated over the past nine months. It’s been a grand ol’ time. Tomorrow we’re heading to Cairns to check out the Barrier Reef! I’m very excited. The Reef has been on my bucket list of places to visit for a very long time; I’m doubly pleased to be able to share this experience with my little brother.

But let’s talk about cake now, shall we?

Yesterday was my brother’s nineteenth birthday! It’s a big birthday in British Columbia because nineteen is the age at which you’re finally legal. You can drink, you can buy a house, and you can get up to all sorts of impropriety. Not that my brother would, of course. He’s got a squeaky-clean image to uphold. But we did take him out for a nice dinner at Jamie’s Italian, bought him his very first legal drink, and I made this monstrously delicious cheesecake cake!

When I asked him what sort of cake he’d like for his birthday, he told me “chocolate.” Great. How boring. So I jazzed it up a little, as you do. What we have here is a layer of peanut butter cheesecake sandwiched between two beautifully moist layers of rich chocolate cake. Slather the thing in fudgy Reese frosting, toss on a few peanut butter cups for good measure, and you have one hell of a tasty dessert!

I can’t take all the credit here. The idea for this cake spawned when I saw Amanda’s (iambaker.net) decadent Root Beer Cheesecake Cake. Originally, I was simply going to make her cake for my brother, but he really loves Reese Cups, so I make a peanut butter version instead. The chocolate cake recipe comes from Joy the Baker’s cookbook, Homemade Decadence. I’m not entirely confident in my cake recipe development yet, so I wasn’t ready to do some crazy experimenting on my brother’s birthday cake. Maybe next year!

This combination is to-die-for! Joy’s chocolate cake is moist, super decadent, and everything you want from a good, sturdy chocolate cake. The peanut butter cheesecake layer is the bomb. Seriously, if you make no other part of this cake, just make the cheesecake layer and it eats it straight up. From the pan. With a fork. Or without a fork, we’re not judging here. And if you’re an I-don’t-care-about-the-cake-gimme-a-bowl-of-frosting person, you will die when you taste this frosting. It tastes exactly like a Reese Cup and complements the two layers incredibly well. You feel like you’re eating a humongous Reese Cup when you eat this cake. It’s delicious and you should try it immediately.

I hope you enjoy this cake as much as my brother did. He had two slices. Okay, we all had two slices. And then we were ill for the remainder of the evening, but our tummies were oh so happy.

Bonne fête, little bro!

If you make my Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake Cake, be sure to take a photo and tag me @onlinefoodblog on Instagram or Twitter. I would love nothing more than to see your creations!

Instructions

In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese and peanut butter and beat together with a hand mixer until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.

Add the sugar and cream it into the peanut butter mixture until combined. B

Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated.

Stir the vanilla and cream into the mixture and pour the batter into the prepared cake tin.

Bake for 25–30 minutes, or until the cake is mostly solid with a slight jiggle at the middle.

Allow to cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Refrigerate the cheesecake layer until ready to assemble.**

Making the chocolate cake layers

Prepare your cake layers according to the recipe’s instructions and set aside to cool completely before assembling and frosting.

Frosting Instructions

In a large bowl (or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), cream together the butter and peanut butter until smooth and fluffy, about 4 minutes.

Whisk in the vanilla, cream, and maple syrup until combined. Sift the icing sugar, one cup at a time, into the mixture and mix on a low speed until thickened.

Sift in the cocoa powder and mix on a low speed until incorporated.

Set aside.

Assembled the Cake

Decide which cake layers will be the bottom and the top.

Dollop a tiny amount of frosting on a cake stand or set the bottom cake layer on top.

The bit of frosting will hold the cake in place while you frost.

Spread a thin layer of frosting on top of the bottom layer and then place the cheesecake layer on top.

Spread another thin layer of frosting on top of the cheesecake layer and then place the second cake layer on top.

Use the remainder of the frosting to frost the entire cake.

If desired, top with halved Reese Cups and dark chocolate shavings.

Notes

*I used Joy the Baker’s 3-Layer Basic Chocolate Cake recipe from her book Homemade Decadence: Irresistibly Sweet, Salty, Gooey, Sticky, Fluffy, Creamy, Crunchy Treats. I used the rest of the batter to make a batch of cupcakes!

**If necessary, the cheesecake layer can be made 24 hours in advance and refrigerated until ready to assemble.

Hi, I am Karen. I am a food blogger and live in Texas, USA. I just love cooking for my family and my friends. I upload recipe articles from time to time to this online food blog. Tell me what you think.

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About Me

Hi, I'm Lee-Ann. Thanks for visiting my food blog. I am a foodie, traveler and a cat lover. (not necessarily in that that order). After reading food blog after food blog, after food blog - I thought - You know what I need it a food blog of my own. Why not - I can cook and I can bake. Learn More